Animal talk is top mystery, reveals poll

The mystery of whether animals can talk is a big curiosity says a new study (model pic)

Asked to choose from 10 unanswered questions about the natural world, almost a third (31%) said that they would like to find out if creatures can communicate Mr Ed-style.

The second most burning question with 29% was over how dinosaurs died out.

And in third, more than a fifth (22%) of the 2,000 people polled wanted to know why cats purr.

The survey for the launch of new TV show David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities on UKTV’s Eden HD channel, also revealed some of the most commonly believed myths about nature.

Almost half those polled (47%) thought female Praying Mantis eat the males after sex, although that only happened once in 69 experiments, while 37% thought camels store water in their humps, rather than fat to provide them with energy.

David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities is on Eden at 8pm on Tuesdays from tonight.